Christian Perspective

- Keith Goudie -

Jesus saw himself not as one who came to be served but as someone who came to serve. Everyone who is a Christian and seeks to enter into their new identity will find they have the same energy and drive to serve others. It is part of a Christian’s new make up. If we are not involved in serving others then we are not acting as we should - you’ve got to serve somebody.

A great danger we face, however, when we set out to serve others is that we do the right thing for the wrong reason. There is a big difference between feeling good because we have served others, and serving others in order to feel good.

People who fall into the latter category are termed ‘rescuers’. One pastor tells of a woman in his church who was always seeking to rescue others in the congregation from their troubles because of the buzz she go out of it. She would look around the church for someone to help and latch on to them. “You could always tell her victims,” he said, “by their hunted look.”

It is also possible to be drawn to serving others in order to be distracted from unhealthy issues in our own lives that we are unwilling to face. Such motivation is unworthy of any disciple of Christ.

We should always be willing to look into our hearts and ask ourselves this question: “Is my desire to serve others a veiled attempt to serve myself and meet my own needs, or, like the apostle Paul, am I compelled by the love of Christ?” We must make sure that we serve others with the love that flows from Christ to us, and not the love of self.